This Week in Solar: Taking solar energy further

1. Australian researchers are taking solar energy further by connecting the quantum dots

Australia’s engineering contributions to the world of solar energy have been significant. A University of Queensland team is pushing the technology even further. The team is leading the world in a newer type of solar cell that is based on quantum dots.

2. A line in the silicon: SA solar industry inverted as new regulations come into effect

South Australia’s new solar installation regulations came into effect on September 28. The regulations, designed to better manage a distributed energy system, are thought rushed by some in the industry, but ultimately they should facilitate more solar integration.

3. ‘A win-win’: New rooftop solar technology could boost household earnings

Network congestion is stopping millions of Australians selling their surplus solar power to the electricity grid, but a trial of new technology to unblock the network could deliver a hip-pocket boost to householders across the country.

4. Australia’s national science agency to buy solar power under 10-year PPA

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has announced a 10-year clean energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ross Garnaut’s Sunshot owned Zen Energy.

5. Queensland’s 25th large scale solar farm registered and sending power to the grid

The Warwick solar farm has become the latest large scale solar project to be registered in the state of  Queensland, and has been sending its first power to the grid as it begins the detailed and complex commissioning process with the Australian Energy Market Operator and its local transmission network.

6. Why green hydrogen could be cheaper than fossil fuels in just a few years

New research suggests that bigger and better electrolysers will be key to producing green hydrogen at a lower cost than fossil fuels, and Australia’s abundance of cheap solar means this cross-over point will come ‘sooner rather than later’.

7. Solar auctions to spread PV over the commercial landscape

Energy Action, an energy procurement business serving the commercial sector throughout Australia, is leveraging 20 years of experience and a new partnership with Beam Energy Labs’ competitive solar procurement platform to provide PV to commercial enterprises.